Chemoselective hydrogenation of nitrobenzyl ethers to aminobenzyl ethers catalyzed by palladium-nickel bimetallic nanoparticles

A highly efficient and chemoselective hydrogenation of nitrobenzyl ethers to aminobenzyl ethers was developed by using a novel palladium-nickel bimetallic nanocatalyst. Since the catalytic selectivity was resulted from the synergistic effects between two metals rather than the traditional catalyst poisons, the hydrogenation proceeded smoothly under additive-free conditions. Thus, the work-up procedure was as simple as to recover the catalyst by a magnetic separation and then to evaporate the solvent.